Lol I actually thought Locksley might've had the best game of the year and wouldn't make a bone head mistake to lose the game. Then I forgot he wears a Miner Uniform. Good Effort, bad execution at key moments and terrible defense in the second half. UTEP loses a game they actually should've won!
"How to give away a football game that's handed to you" A UTEP Miners Story
- Thread starter nattybry
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The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Dimel's teams suck big time with little sign of improvement. I was willing to tough it out to see if the better players he was bringing in could change our fortunes but if he can't coach any better than this, no amount of physical talent will make much difference. So long to this season and next year as well.
This loss really hurts because UTEP should have won this game. I’m not sure why Dimel decided to go for it on fourth down when we could have kicked a short FG. Charlotte had all the momentum up to that point and UTEP desperately needed to score points. The FG would have allowed UTEP to go up by three, but instead we turned the ball over on downs and Charlotte drove 96 yards to score a TD. I saw the UTEP team deflated at that point and that led to the loss. Dimel and staff are not putting this team in a position to win. Football is a game of emotion and the coaches made some bad decisions that cost us the game.
If you can’t make 4th & INCHES you don’t deserve to be on a football field. I had no problem with the decision to go for it. The execution was horrible. The play call for a wildcat formation was even worse. Asses need to be kicked, and coordinators need to be let go. Right now this team couldn’t even beat a local high school team.
With Hughes lined up the backfield in the Wildcat, everyone and their mother knows a run is coming. Locksley has shown the ability to throw a pass now and again... why take him out of the play and lose that run/pass threat? I think these coaches are blowing games just as often as these kids. They’re not putting them in a position to be successful with that bad play calling.
On that 4th and inches I was like oh wow Dimel finally put down his conservative purse and grew some balls...finally. Then he called a play that has like a 99.9% failure rate at UTEP. You can't fix stupid.
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On a positive note, after reviewing UTEP team stats for the season, UTEP has more kickoff return yards and punts than their opponents this season.
Well I agree they messed up a sure win, but the high school thing is ridiculous. They would kill any high school team and there's be injuries on the high school side, you can't compare D-1 even at the level of UTEP. With that said, they played well enough to win, but dumb enough to lose.
I know it's sarcasm and frustration with the 99.9% comment, but come on. Hughes has scored multiple TDs from that same formation down in the goal line area. He even scored out of that formation earlier in the game
The issue we have is that we all saw it coming from a mile away.
True, but they have had a alot of success with that formation. Charlotte's defense saw it coming earlier in the game and couldn't stop it. Unfortunately this time around the LG missed his block and let the backside pursurer penetrate.
I agree that earlier in the game we should have gone for it on 4th and short when we were midfield. Charlotte had all the momentum and that could have kept our defense of the field a while longer and possibly ended in some points.
Every team has tendencies and that is what is looked for when they watch film. Teams know what is coming when Hughes is back there in that formation, but until yesterday, very few have been able to stop it. On the flip side, I'm curious to why we didn't run the QB sneak where everyone is pushing him ahead like a rugby scrum. That has been very successful as well
Hindsight is 20/20 but I think you would have been better off having Kai run a sneak and have McKee and the other backs shove him forward.
Faith in his line to come up big in the clutch failed him. Says a lot that when it comes down to winning time, clutch time when you need a play...the O-Line choked. This team sucks big, fat, hairy donkey balls.
True, and what if Hughes threw a pass? Everybody would shit themselves and spit out their beer. So why not have Hughes or Kai or even Kavika back there to take a direct snap or run the RPO with pass options that are quick hitters? One of the best RPO college QBs ever was Tebow. He scored 55 TDs in 2007 (like 30 of them were passing). He made the jump pass famous on short yardage situations.
I'm not saying do this all the time or dont take shots down the field, but where is our slant, screen and short pass game? If our line and QB are the main issue then wouldn't this help? Kai scored 40 TDs in 8 games at JC. Half were from passes.
Astounding that he only has 6 TD passes in almost two full seasons at UTEP.
I realize that the level of competition is a bit higher in CUSA, however even at the JC level a qb has to give his receivers a chance by airing out his passes and landing them in the same zip code that his WRs are in. That’s what has baffled me so much looking at his JC stats, up until the last couple of weeks, Kai has been by far the least accurate qb I’ve ever seen in a UTEP uniform. His receivers have often times have had NO chance as the ball hasn’t even been within a five yards radius of his guys.
I wonder what has changed from his JC days to now?
In my opinion, it is a combination of flaws and factors; some on Locksley, and some on the guys around him. You have to start with Locksley's poor throwing mechanics which result in erractic and inaccurate throws. That said, the offensive line and receivers haven't done him any favors. Last year, injuries on the line, and to Locksley can be used as an excuse, but injuries haven't been the case this year for the most part. The talent at WR looks a bit better than last year, but most of those guys are inexperienced. The pass protection this year has been way below the line. We haven't even talked about play calling, and off the field activities. All these factors come into play in my opinion when trying to figure out what happened with Locksley.
This is what I imagined the conversation between Canales and Dimel was on that 4th down.
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